Source: Amnesty International –
The intensification of Israel’s brutal military offensive in Gaza City since mid-August has unleashed a new catastrophic phase of mass forced displacement, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians – many of whom have already been uprooted multiple times -into overcrowded enclaves in the south of the occupied Gaza Strip that lack access to clean water, food, medical care, shelter and life-sustaining infrastructure, Amnesty International said today.
Since it escalated its operations in Gaza City, the Israeli military has adopted a series of measures designed to sow panic among the city’s residents and to forcibly displace them, knowingly, into unsafe areas unequipped to receive them. These tactics include issuing unlawful and sweeping mass displacement orders, beginning a campaign to destroy multi-story residential buildings where hundreds of displaced families have been sheltering, deploying explosive remote-controlled vehicles to carry out controlled demolitions, as well as intensifying aerial bombardments on already overcrowded neighborhoods and refugee camps.
“As Israel steps up its cataclysmic onslaught, it appears hell-bent on obliterating Gaza City, deliberately driving out its entire population, levelling large swathes of the city, and seizing full control. For nearly two years, Palestinians civilians throughout the Gaza Strip have been bombarded, starved, and subjected to wave after wave of mass forced displacement, as Israel continues its genocide in Gaza. Deliberately inflicting yet another devastating wave of mass displacement amidst this suffering is not just inhumane, it is a flagrant violation of international law,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns at Amnesty International.
On the morning of 1 October, the Israeli military announced that movement on al-Rashid (coastal) road from south to north would be blocked by noon, indicating that those displaced would not be allowed back and also obstructing movement of the few transportation vehicles available for transferring displaced people and their belongings. Hours later, Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, issued the following statement on X (formerly Twitter): “This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza City itself face-to-face against IDF action which continues at full intensity. Those who stay in Gaza [city] will be terrorists and terror supporters.”
“Such is the level of impunity granted to Israeli leaders that the country’s defence minister can unashamedly issue a public statement that effectively nullifies one of the core principles of international humanitarian law: the obligation to distinguish at all times between civilians and military targets. By threatening that the hundreds of thousands who remain in Gaza City will be treated as ‘terrorists’ and ‘terror supporters’ Israel’s defence minister is effectively giving a green light for war crimes, including the targeting of civilians and imposition of collective punishment, said Erika Guevara Rosas.
Hospitals and health facilities in Gaza City are collapsing and humanitarian organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Committee of the Red Cross, have been forced to suspend their operations in the city as a result of the latest escalation.
While there are no accurate figures for the number of people who have been forcibly displaced from Gaza City since mid-August, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the site-management cluster has recorded over 400,000 movements from north to south Gaza, mainly to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. The waves of displacement have particularly escalated since 5 September, when the Israeli military announced and began a concerted operation targeting high-rise buildings, followed by a mass displacement order to the whole of Gaza City on 9 September.
However, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped under relentless bombardment in Gaza City and the north of the Gaza Strip. Many are unable to flee because they cannot afford transportation costs or because the small area designated by Israel for evacuation is overcrowded and not fit for human habitation. For people with disabilities, older people, and people who have long exhausted their support networks, there is effectively no choice but to remain where they are.
We stayed despite the heavy bombardment; we lost count of the number of times we escaped death; every night was worse than the one before.
Shireen, Displaced woman who stayed with her family in al-Shati refugee camp despite displacement orders
“Whether people are staying in Gaza City because they have nowhere else to go, lack the means to flee amidst a dire shortage of fuel and shelter as a result of Israel’s unlawful blockade, or cannot bear yet another humiliating displacement and its consequences, Israel cannot be allowed to deny civilians in Gaza City the protection they are entitled to. They must be granted unimpeded access to services and supplies indispensable to their survival and must be protected against unlawful attacks,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.
Amnesty International interviewed 16 displaced people who were forced out of Gaza City between 6 and 17 September. They were staying in four different areas of the Deir al-Balah governorate, where they have no access to basic services. For toilets, they have to dig a small hole in the ground just behind their tent and surround it with a thick nylon cover. Younger children, no older than 10, are tasked with carrying a gallon of water to their tent. Seven of the 16 displaced people interviewed had to make the grueling journey from Gaza City to Deir al-Balah, some 20km, on foot.